


Strong

by Ginivandijk



Category: Men's Football RPF
Genre: Can also be read as friendship, M/M, Manchester United, as usual, jesse is sleepy, just the two boys being cute, marcus is nervous
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-03-18
Updated: 2019-03-18
Packaged: 2019-11-24 02:13:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,870
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18160112
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ginivandijk/pseuds/Ginivandijk
Summary: Marcus shows up unannounced and is acting weird, no news there. But what’s going on with him?





	Strong

**Author's Note:**

> This is just a small drabble I though of when I finally got some inspiration to write again! Sorry for all the POV changes, I somehow couldn’t keep it in just one of their POVs.   
> I really hope you like it! And, as always, comments and kudos are MUCH appreciated!  
> Love, 💕✨

_JESSE_

Jesse had just turned off the tv and was about to head off to bed when his doorbell rang. He looked at his watch, wondering why there would be someone at his door at 11pm. He doesn’t have to think long about who it is. Marcus is the only person that would come over unannounced at this ungodly hour.

Feeling slightly annoyed, and slightly concerned about what Marcus is doing here this late, he walked towards the door and yanked it open. Sure enough, Marcus was on the other side, wrapped in a big hoodie and sweatpants. He was looking down at his feet but slowly lifted up his head. His face was adorned by a sheepish smile and he slightly shrugged his shoulders as Jesse raised an eyebrow at him.

Jesse stayed quiet and leaned against the wall next to the door, waiting for Marcus to speak. Normally, he’d let him in immediately, but he was just curious about what the other Manchester United player would give as an excuse to come over at this time.

“I didn’t think you’d let me come over if I would’ve called first…” Marcus gave Jesse his nicest smile and his best puppy dog eyes and Jesse groaned. He’d never be able to say no to those.

Reluctantly, he stepped aside. He was actually really tired, and having Marcus over would mean  _at least_  a few hours of playing games and talking shit.

Once Marcus had taken off his shoes, which he stored neatly on the side of the hallway, he walked into the living room. Jesse rolled his eyes at Marcus’ neatness. His own shoes were thrown throughout the entire living room, and he couldn’t be bothered to pick them up.

Walking into the living room, he almost bumped into Marcus, who was awkwardly standing in the middle of it. He looked down guiltily.

“You were about to go to bed, weren’t you?” Jesse sighed. He didn’t want to make Marcus feel bad, but it was obvious from the closed blinds, the shut off tv and the cleared coffee table that he had been ready to call it a night.

“Yeah.” Smiling his most reassuring smile, Jesse tugged Marcus towards the couch. “It’s alright though, beans. We can play some games or something.”  
  
 _MARCUS_

Marcus could see how tired Jesse really was. But he didn’t have it in him to leave. He needed Jesse around him right now. He was tired himself too, but he was too strung up to be able to go to sleep. So he generously accepted Jesse’s offer to play some games at first, but then he thought of something.

“Didn’t you tell me you wanted to watch that new Netflix show that everybody’s been talking about?” Jesse looked back at him with hopeful eyes.

“You’d finally want to watch that with me?”

Marcus chuckled, “I mean, I guess we could try it.”

Jesse slapped his leg, practically  _squealing_ with glee and reached for the tv remote quickly.

Honestly, Marcus couldn’t even remember what the show was called, but Jesse had been talking about it for weeks. No one had wanted to watch it with him though. Watching tv with Jesse was a literal hell. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut for more than ten seconds. He got way too physically involved in everything, always swinging his arms around and bouncing up and down. Basically you didn’t want to sit next to him during a movie night, ever.

But here Marcus was, doing just that. If he could just keep Jesse calm somehow, maybe he’d get some of the cuddles he was desperately craving.

While Jesse looked up the show on Netflix, Marcus walked towards the kitchen to make some tea. He was hoping that it would make Jesse even more sleepy than he already was. Marcus loved a sleepy Jesse. He’d get into this almost trancelike state in which you could ask him anything and he’d reply honestly. He was also even more cuddly then he would be at a normal time. Basically, sleepy Jesse was just a better, more relaxed version of the normal Jesse.

When Marcus got back to the living room with two steaming cups of tea, Jesse had the show ready to go. He had situated himself on one end of the couch, covered in a fluffy blanket and was looking absolutely adorable. Marcus chuckled and handed Jesse his mug before sitting down on the couch too.

Jesse was sitting too far away for Marcus’ liking, but he couldn’t really do anything about it at this point.

_The Umbrella Academy_  was actually quite a good show so far. At least during the moments that Marcus was paying attention, it was pretty decent. But those moments were sparse.

Jesse had finished his cup of tea in record time and snuggled further into the blanket that was covering him. When Marcus tugged on the end of it so he could use part of the blanket too, Jesse just shifted his entire body to come with the blanket and eventually ended up with his head in Marcus’ lap.

After that, it was hard to focus on the show anymore. Marcus kept looking down at Jesse every other moment and wondered how he got lucky enough to get a best friend like this. Marcus could see Jesse’s eyelids flutter closed, even if he was looking towards the tv. His breathing evened out too, and Marcus smiled slightly. Jesse must have been extremely tired if the fact that he wasn’t even talking 8 miles an hour while watching a movie was anything to go by.

Marcus softly stroked Jesse’s curls and draped his arm across Jesse’s middle. He let his thoughts drift to the reason he came here in the first place.

Even thinking about the match against the Wolves on Saturday made his heartrate spike. He took a deep breath to calm himself down. He couldn’t figure out what was making him so nervous. It was weird because he had absolutely not been this nervous about a match in a while.

_JESSE_

He slowly became aware of a humming noise coming from somewhere behind him. He was about to turn around to see what it was, when he realized he was laying in someone’s lap. And that someone was stroking his hair. He almost freaked out, but then he realized that he had been watching  _The Umbrella Academy_  with Marcus and he smiled. For claiming he ‘definitely wasn’t a softie’, Marcus was very much acting like one right now.

Jesse’s attention focused back on the humming sound. Marcus was humming a song to himself. Jesse grew worried, because the only time that Marcus would do that was when he was profoundly stressed.

Cautiously, Jesse turned around in Marcus’ lap, lifting his head slightly. Marcus eyes snapped to his.

“You okay, beans?” Marcus gave a curt nod and Jesse scoffed.

“You think I’m gonna believe that, sprouts? I know you better than that.”

A sigh escaped the younger man’s lips and Jesse decided to sit up. He wrapped the blanket around both his own and Marcus’ legs and shifted so he was facing him.

“What’s up?” He looked at Marcus questioningly and noticed the way the other man was fiddling his hands.

While grabbing onto Marcus’ hands, he leaned a little closer and tried to catch Marcus’ downcast eyes with his. When the Number 10 finally looked up, Jesse added,

“It’s just me here. You can trust me.”

“I know that-” Marcus started, but he didn’t finish his sentence. Was he ashamed? Jesse wasn’t sure. But he was sure about the fact that something was bothering his best friend.

“Just spill it out, beans!” Patience had never been one of Jesse’s strengths…

“I’m just nervous about Sunday, alright?!” Marcus’ voice was high-pitched as he rushed the words out quickly.

Jesse couldn’t believe what he was hearing. “You’re… Nervous about Sunday? Like? The match? That’s what’s been bothering you? I thought you were dying or something!” He wrapped an arm around Marcus’ shoulders and pulled him close.

“You’re gonna be just fine, silly. You’re gonna do great!”

Marcus groaned and rested his head in the crook of Jesse’s neck.

“This time it’s different, Jesse. I don’t know what’s going on. I wasn’t even this nervous against PSG last week!” he exclaimed, exasperatedly raising his hands and dropping them back down in his lap.

Jesse grew serious for a moment. Marcus would usually be a little nervous, or agitated, before a match, but he’d never had serious issues with it.

“What’s different this time?”

Marcus thought about it for a long time and eventually he said, “It’s just… There’s gonna be people watching.”

Jesse couldn’t stop the laugh from escaping his mouth, because, really? That’s what Marcus was worried about?

“Beans, millions of people watched you play against PSG. Tons of people see you play in England every week.”

“No, I mean… Important people are going to be watching?”

Marcus phrased it more like a question than an explanation and Jesse sighed. He couldn’t handle Marcus’ evasiveness. He was too tired and too impatient to figure out what was going on with his best friend.

_MARCUS_

He could tell that Jesse was getting frustrated. While Jesse was asleep, Marcus had figured it out. He’d finally realized what made him so nervous about this match, specifically.

He decided to just spit it out.

“You’re going to be there.”

For once in his life, Jesse stayed quiet for a while. His face was curious, not mocking, like Marcus thought it was going to be. Jesse’s voice was quiet when he spoke again.

“You’re nervous. Because I’m going to be at the game.”

Marcus blushed and let his body sag against Jesse’s. Marcus himself didn’t understand why it was such a big deal to him either, so he couldn’t expect Jesse to understand what was going on.

“So you came here, hoping that the nerves would go away… By being close to the person that was making you feel those nerves to begin with?” And for the first time that night, Marcus laughed. Because phrased like that, it sounded kind of ridiculous, even to his own ears.

“I guess?” He said in between giggles. As he calmed down, he sat up straight again and looked Jesse in the eyes. “You just always calm me down, you know that. I’m just nervous I’ll mess up while you’re watching me play.”

Jesse just nodded and stood up from the couch, extending his hand.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about, beans. You’re going to be just fine. Let’s go to sleep, little bundle of nerves.” He chuckled at his own joke, before hauling Marcus’ body up from the couch.

As they were walking up the stairs, Jesse turned around with a smirk on his face and, in a seductive tone, said, “You know I’m always watching you though, right? Even when we’re both playing, I’m watching you. Always. Especially when you bend down to pick up a ball…”

They both laughed as Marcus swatted Jesse’s arm. He couldn’t understand why he was so nervous an hour ago; he loved it when Jesse was watching him.


End file.
